Friday, September 3, 2010

Season Ticket Holder Night

I had hoped to have this up much earlier, seeing as I had the day off. Unfortunately I was informed by the missus we were table shopping today. Which lasted from 0930-1600. So much for that.

In the interim some dude using Axiom as his handle did a post for Gaslamp Ball which, well, is a real good summary of the nights events. You can read it here. There are some minor errors, but seeing as the guy did that post from memory let's not quibble. Well done, sir.

So instead, let me inundate you with photos and a couple of stories.

Jerry Coleman still looks awesome, doesn't he?

Jed Hoyer at the microphone. Good seats, but no zoom on the ol' iPhone.

I took photos like this of Jeff Moorad, Tom Garfinkel, and Jarrod Dillon (VP of ticket sales and service), but do you really need more photos of a couple of guys you can't really make out? Really? Email me and I'll send them to you.

say 'Cheese' REAL LOUD!!!

Okay, so after all the speeches and discussion we were herded onto the field for the photo. There was an interlocking 'SD' outlined in blue/white strand line, with a yellow border around it. We all stood patiently waiting for the signal to raise the banners we'd been handed on our way in. The Padres staff had told us the picture would be taken from the top of the stadium, and they weren't kidding. If you look CLOSELY right below the arrow you'll see a Padre staff member standing at the top of the aisle. Just to his left is the camera. I didn't know the camera was actually to the left until the flash went off.

As an aside, I would hope the Padres hired a professional photographer for this memento. Mr Photo-expert-guy - you do realize a flash at that distance is completely useless, right? Unless you're trying to illuminate the bannister of the aisle just below you to get a good picture of it, that flash had absolutely no effect on the quality of the photo you shot. Just sayin'.

Here are some more shots from the OF grass during the photo shoot.

Padre season ticket holders preparing for close order drill.

You can see the blue 'SD' rope, and yellow border rope, clearly.

Here's a better look at the design in center field

Tom Garfinkel, answering questions with panache

OK, two stories. The lovely lady in the 'love pink' shirt is the missus. As you might recall, she's been fired up about the military clothing and lack of women's styles carrying the military logo for sale by the Padres. Taking a shot, she approached Mr. Garfinkel about this. Tom Garfinkel was gracious, and surprised to hear there were no clothing options for women with the new military logo on it. He made a note of her question in his PDA, thanked her, and said he would look into it. Then, he took the military logo pin off his lapel and gave it to her, again thanking her for her question.

Needless to say this made my wife's night.

I did have a chance to ask Jed Hoyer a quick question about Cory Luebke. Luebke is making his major league debut in a tough spot, with the Padres trying to break out of a 7-game losing streak. I asked Hoyer if he had any hesitation about starting Luebke tonight. He said they had planned 3 Sept as the kid's debut for a while, and didn't want to pull the kid last minute and mess up his preparation, an unnecessary emotional let down, etc. They also didn't want to give the appearance they were anxious or panicking, which is how that move would most likely be interpreted. This is a bit of a paraphrase, but I did get the impression the front office had discussed that question, and were satisfied they were on the right course of action for Luebke and the Padres.

He then told me it was a good question and thanks for asking it. Which needless to say made my night.